Those Merry Wanderers of the Night
by emyy250
Summary: Takes place after chapter 19 of Talia Xanatos: The Other Timeline. After season 6 of My Little Pony. Puck, Alex, and Talia get sent to an alien world after a magic lesson goes wrong. Discord finds them fascinating.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Consequences

Puck's POV

"Uh," I rubbed my head. "You kiddos alright?"

"I'm fine." Alex rubbed his head.

"Talia, Sweetie?" I called out.

"I don't see her." Alex said. We were in a forest of some kind.

"She has to be here. Ugh!" I gripped my stomach.

"Puck?" My oldest student asked.

I tried to ignore the pain. "Something happened to her."

Puck's POV End

Talia's POV

"Not… again. One… two… Three!" I pulled myself off the sharp branch.

"Ahh!"I collapsed and panted.

I stayed on the ground for a few minutes before struggling to get up. I felt the bruise on my forehead. I looked at the bloody branch. Nothing was broken. I felt the blood rise in my throat, probably from my sky dive into the ocean. I coughed it up. I tried to make a bandage to cover the wound and it sorta worked. I was barely upright. I shuffled onto a large path, one hand on my stomach, the other holding a long stick. I was breathing heavily when I saw a small cottage.

"HEY! Someone help me!" I managed to yell out before causing another bloody coughing spree and fainting from exhaustion.

Talia's POV End

Discord's POV

"HEY! Someone help me!" Somepony yelled outside.

"Who was that?" Twilight asked.

"Whoever it was needs our help. They sounded hurt." Fluttershy ran out of the kitchen.

We ran outside after her and Fluttershy was trying to turn the creature over. We helped her and got it on its back. Blood ran down its chin and a bloody bandage covered its stomach wound. Its dusty forehead had a large bruise on it.

"Help me get her inside. Carefully." Fluttershy told me.

I gently picked her up and carried her inside. She had Twilight clear a space for her and I set her down. Fluttershy took the shirt off the creature and put it aside. It was wearing another cloth to cover its chest. Fluttershy unwrapped the bandage.

"She looks like a human, but not one from the alternate world I went to." Twilight said.

"Twilight, she lost a lot of blood and her breathing's shallow. I need your help." The yellow Pegasus told her.

"I'll do what I can, but it might not be enough." Twilight's horn flared. "I sent an emergency letter to the Princess."

Twilight stopped the internal bleeding and steadied her heartbeat, but something was wrong.

"That's not going to last. She needs a doctor." I said.

"I know, it's the best-" The alicorn said.

"No, you don't. This human has… magic. And it's reacting poorly to yours." I frowned gravely.

"That's impo-" She started.

"Talia!" A strange being, human shaped but not human, burst through the door.

It was thinner than the girl and had white long hair. He wore an orange tunic with gold trim on the collar and short sleeves covered by a purple toga, held by a gold pin and cinched by a gold sash, and dark leggings and boots, also with gold trim.

Green magic poured out of his hands and healed Talia. Healed her wounds, gave her more blood, everything. But despite all that, she still had a circular stab wound on her stomach.

"Puck, is everything ok?" A deep voice behind us asked.

We looked and saw a far more muscular human with orange shoulder length hair and dark green eyes. He was as tall, slightly taller than I was. He wore a gray shirt and pants.

"She's stable, but she's gonna be tired for awhile. I'm so sorry, Sweetheart. I'm sorry you got hurt. We shouldn't have been playing with the mirror." Puck apologized to Talia.

"Puck, she can't hear you." The tall male said.

"Alex, shut up! This is your fault too. You wanted to try it!" He glared and Alex flinched.

"Enough fighting." Fluttershy said sharply. They looked at her. "She's ok now, right?"

"Yes, but I'll have keep my eye on her so she doesn't make it worse on accident." Puck said.

"That's good to hear. I came as soon as I could, but it seems the situation has been taken care of." Celestia said in a soothing manner.

Puck got up and through a glance; Alex swapped places with him, now at Talia's side. He knelt before her. "I request sanctuary, Your Majesty."

"I grant your request. Can the girl be teleported?" She asked.

"Not far." He shook his head.

"The other side of town?" She pressed.

"That should be ok. Follow you?" He asked.

"Yes." We all teleported to Twilight's castle. I wasn't going miss this for the world. So much chaos in a single evening.

Discord's POV End


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

About us

Alex's POV

We teleported to a strange castle. It was crystal and shaped like a tree. Puck left to go tuck Talia into bed. The rest of us, some more technicolor ponies were dragged here, were to a meeting room. Puck came back after 7 minutes.

"Now, that we're all here, fire away." Puck smiled.

"What in tarnation are ya?" The orange pony asked.

"I'm what you call hobgoblin, a sprite-" He started to explain.

"A being made of pure magic. Now-" A zipper closed the purple pony's mouth.

"Now, Twilight, you haven't introduced yourselves to these strangers. Best not to be rude." The dragonesque being said.

She nodded and the zipper was gone. "Right, sorry. I'm Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and Harmony Element of Magic."

"Spike, Twilight's assistant." The little baby dragon got out some paper and quill.

"Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's student." A light pink unicorn smiled a tiny bit.

"Applejack, Element of Honesty." The orange pony said in a Southern accent.

"Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty." The rainbow maned Pegasus puffed her chest out.

"Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter!" The pink pony smiled.

"Rarity, Element of Generosity." The white unicorn said elegantly.

"Fluttershy, Element of Kindness." The yellow Pegasus said so softly I almost didn't hear it.

"I am Discord, lord of chaos and disharmony. And you better remember to tell the kiddo upstairs." Discord floated around me. His red and yellow eyes stared into mine as he pressed something into my hands.

"I will." I said, not breaking eye contact with him even though I wanted to so badly.

"Good." He smiled and went back to his seat. I looked and it was a business card with his title and face on it.

The taller white queen cleared her throat. "I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria along with my sister, Princess Luna, who will be here soon."

Suddenly, a blue pony with stars in her mane appeared. She regarded us with a quizzical look and sat near her sister.

"I'm Alexander Xanatos, call me Alex. That's my teacher, Puck. And my little sister, Talia's asleep upstairs." I gestured.

"Ok, _now_ , are there any questions?" Puck smiled lazily, but I knew he wanted to check on Talia again.

"Well, Alexander, darling, I do have one… Are all of your kind so _muscular_?" Rarity asked.

"I'm the expection." I smiled.

"You're not fully human, are you, Alexan- Alex?" Starlight asked.

"What gave that away?" I asked, amused.

"Well, now that one of you isn't injured, I could focus and feel the magic coming off of you. You have less magic than Puck's, well he _is_ made of magic, but it is much more potent. Talia's also like you, isn't she?" She tilted her head slightly in a curious fashion. It was too damn cute.

"She is… but she isn't." I frowned.

They looked at me then Puck.

"Talia's not your average Halfling. While Alex was born to another Halfling, she was not. When she was born, she had two human parents. But she was premature and almost died… Until I saved her life while teaching Alex how to heal. However, she was a lot closer to death than I would have liked and I had to bind her soul to her body and mind." Puck paused as the ponies and princesses gasped. Even Discord looked shocked.

"This came with consequences. Two actually. The first was that my magic altered her DNA, the stuff that makes her _her_ , and the second is that her life became tied to her magic. Because there was no one to teach her, her magic got weaker and more and more of it was being dedicated to keeping her alive, but it's gotten better now that I'm teaching her." He finished.

"What do you mean there was no one to teach her?" Twilight narrowed her eyes.

"I forgot about her. I had to focus on Alex." He frowned. He regretted that.

"Wait, you said your magic altered her DNA. How did it change her?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It overwrote her paternal DNA and now..." Puck turned back into Owen. "Puck and I, Owen Burnett, are her fathers. She is mostly Puck's, but she has some of my DNA in her." He adjusted his glasses.

"That's impossible! You're saying she has more than 100% genetic material." Twilight exclaimed.

"I don't know how it works, but I'd rather not look a miracle in the mouth. Especially one like this." Owen said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check on my daughter."

"Let me know when she wakes up." I told him.

"Yes, Alexander." Owen nodded at me and left.

"He gets worried when this happens." I explained.

"It's happened before?" Spike looked up from writing.

"Unfortunately." I grimaced.

"What was that?" Twilight asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Puck turning into Owen, what was that?" She clarified.

"Oh, _that_. It's his punishment for not going back to Avalon, where all the Fae live most of the time, when I was born. He can only be Puck when protecting or teaching us. He still could have been Puck right now, but I think he wanted to the reveal as dramatic as possible." I said.

"And dramatic it was." Discord smiled.

"Why… does your magic have more _sway_ than the Puck's? Are you higher up than him?" Luna asked.

"Yes, the prince of Avalon, grandson of the queen. Talia became princess when my father adopted her. After we figured out she had magic _and_ use it." My lip twitched up slightly. That was a hectic day.

"Me, me, me!" Pinkie waved her hoof in the air like a kid.

"No one's stopping you." I smiled.

"Do humans eat cake?" She asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows, surprised.

"She's planning a "Welcome to Ponyville" party for you." Twilight explained.

"Yeah, we eat cake. We also eat meat as well as vegetables and fruit." I told them.

"Omin-, omni- Twilight, how do you spell omnivore?" Spike asked.

"O-m-n-i-v-o-r-e." She recited.

"When is this party?" I asked.

"Normally, it'd be after this Q&A, but Talia's hurt and she should be at the party sooo… When she's better." Pinkie thought.

"Oh, she should be fine after a day's rest. Overexerting herself is the problem now." I touched my finger to my lip.

"Oh, we know a lot about that." Twilight looked teasingly at Applejack.

"Ah learned my lesson, Twi!" She huffed.

"I think I covered everything you needed to know." I thought.

"Thank you for your patience, Alexander. I'm sure you would like to rest soon." Celestia told me.

"We'll tell you about Equestria in the morning." Twilight chirped.

"Thanks." I stifled a yawn.

"Go back your homes, little ponies. You can see them tomorrow." Luna told them.

They slowly left. Discord gave me a decidedly satisfied nod and teleported away. Luna came up to me.

"Let us know if Discord gives you any trouble." She said.

"We're tricksters. We can handle him." I smiled.

"Very well, but statement still stands. We will help you get home anyway we can, young prince." She had a serious look on her face.

"Thank you." I bowed.

"Come, Luna. We must return to the castle." Celestia told her.

"Coming, Sister." She called as she went to her.

"Let us know if you need anything." Twilight came up to me.

"I will." I nodded.

"Do you nee-" She started.

"I can find where Puck and Talia are. Good night." I waved as I found them.

I opened the purple door and saw Puck cast something on the window.

"How'd it go?" He asked.

"It went good. Pinkie is planning us a Welcome to Ponyville party after Talia feels better." I said, kneeling and kissing Talia's forehead. "I'm sorry, Tai. We should have listened to you."

"You're going to sleep in the room one down from Talia's." Owen's voice told me. Puck frowned and shook him back.

"Got it." I said.

"I warded her room so nothing bad can get in. I've warded yours too." He turned to face me.

I nodded and stuck my hand in my pocket, pulling out the card Discord gave me. Puck took it and checked it. Deciding it was safe, he put it on the dresser.

"What do you think about him?" I asked.

"He's not 100% good, but I think he respects us enough not to harm Talia." He said after a bit. Then he smiled. "I think Rarity was looking you over."

"Ew, Puck, that's gross." I blanched.

"I'm just saying what I saw." He shrugged.

"I don't care how long we're here; I'm not fucking a pony." I growled.

"At least, Talia has someone waiting for her back home." Puck looked at his daughter.

"She's lucky. Guys haven't been trying to get into her pants since forever because she's rich." I sighed.

"How dare you put that image in my head." Puck frowned at me.

"It's true." I told him.

"Alex, it's not your fault those losers couldn't handle your lifestyle." He said.

"At least, we weeded out the racist ones pretty quick." I shrugged.

Talia made a small sleepy noise as she cuddled her fox.

"Give her one last kiss then we'll leave her to sleep." I told him.

Puck walked over to Talia and brushed her hair and kissed her cheek, "Sleep well, little trickster."

Then he turned back into Owen. He gently petted her black wavy hair, following its soft curves. I was kinda envious of her hair. It was so soft and shiny. I could never get my hair like that and she just did it and she wasn't even at her full power.

Owen kissed her forehead, "Good night, Sweetheart. We love you."

We turned out the lights and went to bed.

Alex's POV End


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Effects of dimension hopping and learning about Equestria

Talia's POV

 _I was on the floor surrounded by moving shadows. Blood and bleach overwhelmed my nose. Thunder shook the house. It was getting hard to breathe. I was barely awake._

 _I was at school, sitting through a lesson._

" _What a pitiful sight. Tell you what? I'll grant you a wish." An impish voice asked._

 _Someone my age was talking to me. They looked happy._

 _I didn't want a wish. I wanted to sleep. "N-no…"_

 _I sat on the floor, trying to ignore the shouting and ate my meal._

" _Oh, don't be so modest. You must have something you want." It said._

 _I lifted the glass to my lips and tried not to spit it out._

 _I wished._

I woke and tried to get the smell of blood away from my nose.

* * *

 _"Please forget me. You deserve better."_ I whispered.

She kissed me. I kissed back after a moment. I felt a tear roll down my cheek as her hand went to my hair as she desperately tried to get some emotion out of me. Her nails dug into my shirt. I wanted to feel something. I did: I was sorry. Sorry that I had hurt her so much. I knew she loved me. It was obvious.

I gently nudged her away. She lingered and then pulled away. _"You were my first."_

 _"Don't let me haunt you anymore, Adriana."_ I said breathlessly.

 _"I don't know if I can…"_ She paused, biting her lip.

 _"I have no place in your life now. I can't give you what we had."_ I looked in her eyes and saw the all the sadness and grief I caused.

 _"I still want you."_ She said softly.

 _"I am a ghost, Adriana. A ghost who can't love you."_ I frowned.

She smiled. _"Still poetic, I see."_

 _"Please let me go. I have nothing to give you."_ I said again.

* * *

 _"Because you caught feelings and couldn't let go. You left me homeless! You took my death from me, now I'm a fucking freak!"_ I yelled.

 _"You are not! I couldn't lose another child, not one like you."_ He tried to brush my hair behind my ear.

 _"Then find another daughter. Cause there's plenty of suicidal people."_ I hissed, smacking his hand away.

 _"Don't you dare, Talia!"_ He bound my arms and legs.

 _"I won't stay~"_ I sang and broke the chains.

Puck's eyes widened and he scrambled, but it was too late. I was already gone.

Talia's POV End

Owen's POV

Grief and regret suddenly overcame everyone. Tears falling from my eyes, I turned into Puck.

Owen's POV End

Talia's POV

I felt Puck come in my room. "I'm so sorry, Daddy…" I cried.

"Talia, it's ok. It was just a dream." He soothed, sitting on my bed and pulling me close. "Shh, Talia, shh. You're ok, Sweetheart, you're ok."

Puck held me and stroked my hair. I calmed down slowly. "What happened in the dream, Tai?"

"I tried to kill myself by drinking bleach and cutting my arms open, but you saved me. I didn't know it was you though. The next thing I knew I woke in Manhattan and I had lost all my memories and tried to jump off the castle like before, but it didn't work then David adopted me. And I broke up with Adri because I didn't remember her, but then I did and that hurt worse. Goliath and Elisa went on their World Tour after that, but I didn't know at the time and I got depressed. Then Alex was born and I ran away for two months. And a little bit later, we got in a fight because you wanted me to date Adri again, but I didn't so I ran away again for five years." I told him as he gave me tissues. I blew my nose.

"That wasn't a dream. That was a vision of an alternate timeline where you were Xanatos' first child." Owen said. "Talia, that wasn't your life. I know it felt real, but that's not your life."

"I need a minute." I said.

"Of course, Sweetheart." He kissed my forehead.

I hugged him and then I slowly got over the intense emotions. Then I got dressed and he showed me to the dining room. Alex was eating pancakes, but I could smell the tears on his face. Actually, everyone had cried recently.

"Did I make everyone cry?" I asked.

"It wasn't your fault. You were having visions of another Talia's life." Owen told me. Alex looked at him. "We have crossed many dimensions and now in an alien world where horses talk. Something was bound show up when we dreamed once. You must have gravitated toward that timeline because it was so similar to ours." Owen said.

"She saw an alternate timeline?" Alex asked.

"Yes, where she was the oldest Xanatos child." Owen led me to the chair next to him and gave me a plate full of pancakes.

Alex scoffed.

"It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. It was actually the opposite. Angst and thunderstorms. I, Other me was 17 when she ran away for five years." I put syrup on them.

"Focus on the differences, Talia." Owen told me.

"She's 22. You," I gestured to Alex, "were six. Brooklyn hadn't met Kanata when she left. She was at her full power. She- she almost had a child…" My heart clenched. "But Sarah hung herself."

"Alright, kiddo. This isn't going to work. Let's just…" Puck's magic washed over me and dulled the intensity. "How do you feel now?"

"Like I watched a sad TV show." I said.

"Good." He turned back into Owen and ate his food.

"How did her emotions affect us?" Starlight asked.

"Are unicorns dangerous when startled?" He asked.

"Point taken." She said.

I poked Alex and what happened while I was asleep. He showed me. I nodded. I looked down at my pancakes and they now had words on them. "Smile, Talia." I smelt cotton candy and joy coming from the ceiling and looked up.

A pink pony smiled at me. "No one's ever found me so quickly!" She jumped down and landed in an empty seat, taking an apple.

"Pinkie, don't scare them." Twilight scolded her.

"If she was a threat, Puck would have taken care of it already." Alex said.

"We're only a threat to bad guys." She giggled. "Did you tell them about Equestria yet?"

"What about Talia? She was asleep when-" Spike said.

"Alex took care of it, Spike." I told him.

"That was nice of you, Alex." She took out a shit ton of note cards.

Our eyes widened. Owen raised his eyebrow.

"Give us the super important shit." I took the cards with my magic.

Owen glared at me.

"I'm sorry for swearing…" I mumbled.

She grabbed a half of it.

"What toddlers know." I said.

She grabbed a few hoof picked cards after a lot of deliberation. "Many millennium ago, the two royal sisters, who ruled together and created harmony for all the land after defeating many evils, notably Discord, who ruled Equestria with his chaos magic and left everything in an eternal unhappiness, and Lord Tirek, who came to Equestria to steal magic from everypony.

The eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. The ponies played in the day but slept through the night, which made the younger Alicorn grow bitter, seeing it as being shunned. Her bitterness transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. The elder sister reluctantly harnessed the power of the Elements of Harmony and banished her permanently in the moon, taking responsibility for both sun and moon, maintaining harmony in Equestria. Then 1,000 years later on the longest night, Nightmare Moon would be free-"

"But we totally stopped her!" Pinkie shouted. Our lips curled upward. She beamed.

"Yes, Pinkie. We stopped her. And with the Elements of Harmony, we turned her back into Princess Luna. And that's the very basics. Any questions?" She asked.

"So, what exactly does Alicorn mean?" I asked.

"They are ponies who embody the three pony races, the Crystal ponies are still part of the pony races, they just have evolved differently than us. Alicorns have a Unicorn's magic, a Pegasus' wings, and an Earth Pony's strength and power." Twilight said.

"And Alicorns are royalty?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Starlight said.

"I think we have everything we need for now." Owen told her.

"Why don't we show you around Ponyville after breakfast?" Twilight suggested.

"Very well, Miss Sparkle." Owen said.

We ate and then Twilight and Pinkie led us to the main door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Touring Ponyville

Pinkie took us to Sugarcube Corner. She told us many, many times before we actually saw the building. It had a painted roof and a cupcake tower. Owen and Alex had to duck when they walked through the door. I didn't. We got inside and Pinkie was behind the counter.

She gasped. "You must be new here! Choose whatever you want!"

I frowned thoughtfully. Everything looked good. I whined.

"Take you time, Sweetie." Dad soothed as he stepped up to the counter. "A blueberry scone."

"Okie dokie, what about Mister Puck?" Pinkie asked.

"… Double chocolate cupcake." He answered.

"Here you go." She gave him a bag.

"I'm afraid we-" Owen started.

"You can repay me by helping me with a prank I've been working on. That's how it works, right?" She looked at him.

"Very well, Miss Pie. After the children's tour." Owen's words came out of Puck's smile.

"I'm 20." Alex frowned.

"You're a baby in fae years." Owen told him, taking the bag to a table.

Alex stepped up next. "Uh, a cinnamon bun."

"Good choice. You can help with a different prank." She gave him a different bag.

"You're up, kiddo." Alex smiled at me as he went to the table.

I stepped up to the counter. "I want, uh, a muffin. Chocolate chip."

"Alright, one chocolate chip muffin. Let's see, can you make rain chocolate milk?" She asked.

"Um, never tried." I said.

Puck gave Owen a wiry grin.

"Great!" She gave me my muffin and I sat down with my family and we ate.

"How is it? You like it? Hu-" Pinkie asked us.

"We like it fine." Alex said.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"It's sweeter than I'm used to, but I will live." Owen chewed his scone.

She seemed happy with that. Twilight bought something and she waited for us to finish. Puck threw away his cupcake wrapper then changed back into Owen. We said goodbye to Pinkie, she had work to do, and left Sugarcube Corner.

"Now, we could go to Fluttershy's or Rarity's next. Fluttershy's, well, shy, but I'm sure she'd like to see how Talia's doing. Her house is on the outskirts, but we'll be walking a lot today either way." Twilight said.

"Why can't we just teleport?" Alex asked.

"Oh, right. You can do that. I just thought you'd like to see the sights." She smiled sheepishly.

Alex backtracked. "No, we do, I just spaced!"

"Where do you want to go, Alexander?" Owen asked.

"Oh, um, doesn't matter." He shrugged.

"Talia?" Owen looked at me.

"Um, Fluttershy's?" I thought.

"Ok. Fluttershy's it is." Twilight trotted in front of us, telling Owen facts about Equestria. I was looking around.

Ponyville had small hut houses. It was grassy and open, sunny, but not too hot. A lot like Uncle Peter's farm. He wasn't really my uncle though. We got to Fluttershy's cottage after 10 minutes. The roof was mossy and there were lots of bird houses. The small bridge connecting her house to the path was narrow and thin. Puck reinforced it so it wouldn't crumble under our weight. Twilight knocked on the door.

"Fluttershy, it's me, Twilight! I brought Alex, Talia, and Owen. I thought you'd like see them." She said loudly.

The door opened and it was a bunny. He frowned at Twilight. Then the yellow Pegasus appeared.

"Oh, hello, come in. I wasn't expecting guests so soon. I'll get some tea going." She said more to the Alicorn. We sat on the couch and chair.

The bunny watched us. _"Mistress is worried about the small filly. But the males…"_

" _You got it half right. I'm a girl."_ I told him.

" _You understand me, little one?"_ He hopped closer to me.

" _Yeah."_ I nodded a little.

" _Interesting. You have magic."_ He thought.

" _From my dad. The lean one."_ I looked at Owen.

" _I know which male is your sire."_ He sniffed.

" _My bad. Carrot?"_ I got one from somewhere.

" _An Apple carrot… You're alright, little half Folk."_ The bunny hopped over to my side and ate the carrot. I scratched his head. _"Ah, yes, a little to the left, ah!"_

"Oh, you made friends with Angel, good. I only have Earl Gray if that's ok." Fluttershy set a tea tray on the coffee table.

"Thank you, Miss Fluttershy. It will do fine." Owen took a cup.

"You have a lot of animals here, are you a vet?" Alex asked after taking a sip.

"No, not exactly. It's more like a rehabilitation clinic. I treat the animals and then send them home. Except the ones that can't live out in the wild anymore." She explained.

"Cool." He nodded.

I put some sugar cubes in my tea and stirred it. Then I drank it.

"How are you feeling, Talia?" She looked at me.

"I'm fine." I said. "Dad's magic healed me."

"Talia, you have to be careful not overwork yourself. Your body is still weak from that new wound." Owen frowned.

"Fine." I mumbled.

"Talia." He repeated.

"How long until my luck runs out?" I looked bitterly into my cup.

Owen knelt and I met his eyes. "I will always protect you. Alexander will protect you. The clan and Xanatoses will fight for you. But when you stop believing in yourself and give in, that is when your luck truly runs out. You must keep fighting and endure. We will come, we will always come, but we cannot do anything if you've already lost. You have to wait for us. We promise to protect you no matter what, but you must never give in and fight in any way you can, endure long enough for us to find you."

"I promise to never give in, fight and endure, and wait for you. And I know you will come for me." I promised.

A green glow overtook me, Owen, and Alex and shone brightly for a few seconds. So brightly I couldn't see. I blinked and waited for my vision to come back. "What was that?"

"A promise made out of love." He smiled and kissed my cheek, getting up.

"That was powerful." Twilight marveled.

"I have to agree." Fluttershy nodded.

"That is why you must be mindful of your words. Your magic binds you to them. I imagine Goliath will not be pleased at first to learn he and the clan have been oath bound, but this is a promise he would have fulfilled regardless." Dad mused.

"It'll affect the entire clan?" Alex asked.

"I made that promise on everyone's behalf." He said.

"He's still gonna be mad at you." I told him.

"So be it." Owen brushed my hair behind my ear, kissing my forehead.

"Who's Goliath and what's a clan?" Twilight asked.

"That is something for later. Finish your tea, children." He adjusted his tie and sat back down.

We drank and Twilight kept asking Dad about our magic. Fluttershy reined her in. Alex snorted and I felt Puck bark in laughter. What was so… Oh, come on! I glared at them and they stopped peeking in my thoughts.

We left Fluttershy to work and walked over to Rarity's. It wasn't as far away as I thought. It was a round, light purple building. We went inside. It was a designer store. Owen put his hand on my shoulder and made me stay. Alex grinned at me and I glared at him. The white unicorn trotted in the showroom, expecting customers.

"Twilight, what a nice surprise. You brought Alexander, and you must be Talia." She held her hoof out and I shook it gently. "I'm Rarity. It's nice to see you up and about, darling. Oh, what unique eyes you have!"

"It's the magic." I said.

"Her eyes were brown when she was born." Owen explained.

"I see…" Her ears folded back for a second. "You're welcome to look around, although I don't have anything for humans."

"You made all these?" Alex rubbed his chin.

"Yes, and I found all the gems on them." She smiled.

I thought about looking around, but like she said: there was no stuff for people. Unless… A pretty green flash and I was a pony. The natives gasped. Alex ruffled my mane.

"That's my girl!" Puck smiled, hugging me. "Why'd you choose to be an Alicorn?"

"I'm a what?" I asked.

They led me to the mirrors and I looked. I was shorter than Twilight. My mane and tail was still wavy and black, my eyes still green with brown splotches. My coat was the same peachy tan as my skin. And my wings and horn. I lifted one wing then the other and flapped. I got off the ground. I played with my horn next, making it glow and spark.

"At least, you didn't turn pink." Alex cracked.

"You're just jealous cause you didn't think of it." I stuck my tongue out.

"I'm not the one with a tattoo on my butt." He pointed. My flank had a quill and paper with three green sparkles.

"That's a Cutie Mark. It shows up when you find your special talent." Twilight explained.

"How come I'm an Alicorn?" I asked.

"Perhaps it's because you're a princess." Puck hummed.

"What would happen if-" Alex thought.

"No turning into a pony yet! You're both a handful as is." Puck looked at me. "As Halflings."

"I wanna go outside." I trotted off the little stage and toward the door.

Puck's magic grabbed me. "That's not a good idea, kiddo. The ponies will freak out when they see a new princess."

I pouted, sitting on my haunches and folded my ears back.

"We'll do it later, Sweetheart. After the tour." He relented a little.

"Ok…" I huffed.

"That's my good girl." He cooed, kissing my cheek.

Twilight's horn glowed. "How is that possible? Shapeshifting-"

"Another name of ours is Changeling." Puck told her.

The natives cringed. I smelled something strange, something chaotic. Pleasant and sour, warm and icy, musky and clean. I looked in the mirror and saw a red tail disappear in one of them. Alex looked back too late.

"As fascinating as this is, I suggest you turn back into your normal self before anypony else sees you." Rarity said. A poof and I was human again.

"As cute as pony you was, I like you better this way." Alex picked me up and nuzzled me.

"Alex." I whined.

"You love my cuddles, Tai." He kissed my cheek and a little bit of my neck. I giggled as his beard tickled me. "You're a cutie pie." He cooed.

"Why don't you take your shirt off while you're at it?" Puck rolled his eyes. "Get more scent on her that way."

"Don't be gross, she's still… Scent?" He asked. I looked at him too.

"All humans have a scent. Fae do too. Well, our magic does. When we like something, we mark it with our magic. Claim our territory. Talia has pheromones, it's a byproduct of your magic, so she doesn't mark in the same way we do, but she does leave a scent. It's lilac-y and earthy and it's got a hint of apple spice. And, of course, Avalon marked her princess and prince. So, you got an island-y as well underneath your natural scent." He explained long windedly.

"I have pheromones?" I asked.

"Yeah." Puck nodded.

"What's my scent like?" Alex asked.

"Human musk with the heated castle stone from the summer sun." Dad said and took me from Alex so I couldn't sniff his neck. I whined. He hushed me.

"How else are Halflings different from humans?" Twilight asked excitedly.

"Twilight." Rarity nudged her. "You're giving them a tour, remember?"

"Oh, right." She blushed.

"In exchange for your hospitality, I will answer your questions about Halflings. At a more appropriate time." Owen creeped back in before fully taking over. It was weird to be in his arms while he changed. He set me down.

"If you ever want new clothes, you know where to find me." Rarity smiled.

"We will consider your offer." Owen said.

"We should get going to Sweet Apple Acres." Twilight said.

"Come along, children." Owen said.

"See you later." Alex waved.

"Bye." I waved too.

The walk to Sweet Apple Acres was still cool, but the sun was higher in the sky. I looked up and saw some Pegasus moving clouds.

"What're they doing? With the clouds." I pointed the sky.

"They're maintaining them so we don't get any unwanted cloud build up or unpredictable weather." Twilight said, turning to look at me.

I furrowed my brow.

"Humans don't control the weather back home; they don't have that kind of power. And we're not supposed mess with it too much." Alex explained.

"But how do you know what the weather's going to do?" She asked.

"Educated guesses and watching the weather patterns." He shrugged.

Twilight's eye twitched.

"Hey, eg- Twilight! You taking the prince and princess on a tour?" Rainbow Dash called from above before landing next to her.

"Yes, Rainbow. We're going to Applejack's." She answered.

"Just in time for lunch." Rainbow smirked.

"I was letting Talia get her rest." Twilight answered.

"Speaking of which," Rainbow walked up to me. "Rainbow Dash, world's fastest flyer and member of the Wonderbolts." She held her hoof out and I bumped it with my fist, making her smile.

"What's a Wonderbolt?" I asked.

She gasped, horrified. "They're only the best, most awesome group of flyers in Equestria ever! You have to see us fly-"

"Rainbow, Talia still has to take it easy. We don't want to wear her out before Pinkie's party." Twilight said sternly.

Her ears folded back. "I'm really passionate about the Wonderbolts. It was my lifelong dream to be a member."

"It's alright, Miss Dash. We will discuss this later." Owen said.

"Does Applejack grow apples?" I asked.

Rainbow laughed. "Does Applejack grow apples? Only the best apples in in all of Equestria!"

"Really? You sure you aren't being a little hyperbolic?" Alex teased.

"Let's get there and find out!" Rainbow grinned challengingly.

"You asking for a race, little pony?" He raised his eyebrow.

"First one through the gate wins." A hot spark lit her eyes up.

"Talia, will you join them?" Owen asked, drawing a line the dirt for them to get behind.

A hand drifted to my stomach. "I'm good."

"We can race next time." Rainbow smiled good-naturedly.

"You sure you want your b- flank whooped by both of us Xanatoses?" Alex grinned.

"We'll see who laughing when I win." She turned back to him.

"Get behind the line." Owen said and they did. "On your mark, get set, … … Go."

They took off running, leaving a giant dust cloud in their wake. I think Alex was in the lead. We waited for the dust to settle and then walked after them. I could see Alex's footprints dig slightly in the dirt and smell his magic. Puck fixed the path. We heard arguing as we passed to the fenced off orchard.

"You cheated!" Rainbow yelled.

"You never said I couldn't use my powers." Alex pointed out.

"You put obstacles in my way!" She stamped her hoof.

"I also could have made the ground eat you, but I didn't." He said. "Besides, you didn't hit any of them."

"I'm a Wonderbolt, we train like crazy!" Rainbow saw us. "He cheated! He threw up walls and fences in my path."

"She never said I couldn't use my powers. You were there, Owen." Alex said.

"It is true that Alexander took advantage of the implied rules, but he is a trickster after all." Owen said.

"I demand a rematch!" Rainbow said.

"Not right now, Rainbow. We're still on a tour." Twilight said.

"Fine." She huffed.

A green pony walked outside the barn, house. She was connected to the land in a way I couldn't ignore. "What in tarnation is going on? Is that one of Fluttershy's creatures?"

"Hello, Granny Smith. This is Alex, he's a Halfling, and that's his sister, Talia. This is Owen, Talia's father." Twilight introduced us.

We walked to Granny Smith and knelt. Applejack and another Apple pony soon came to see what was going on. "None o' that, ya hear? We Apples aren't special."

"I must disagree. A family of your caliber must be recognized." Owen said.

"Your hard work and diligence shines brightly." Alex added.

"These qualities and more deserve their respect." I intoned.

"Is anypony else a little freaked out?" Rainbow asked.

"Hush!" Twilight hissed.

"As long as you're on our land, you are our guests." Granny told us. We stood and dusted our knees off. "These here is mah grandfoals, Big McIntosh,"

"'ello." The big red pony greeted.

"And Applejack. The youngest, Apple Bloom, is at school." She finished.

"It's nice to see you up, sugarcube." Applejack told me.

Then we were lead inside to a dining room and served first. It was vegetable stew. Pony serving sizes were just a bit too small. Spike had made us extra pancakes. And it also didn't help that there were 5 more people to feed. I figured what would have taken days to finish was half gone by the time Applejack got any.

"How'd you get to Equestria?" Granny asked.

"A magic lesson involving mirrors gone wrong. Made a portal instead of window." Alex said.

Twilight winced in sympathy. The others just winced. I ate another spoonful of stew and smelled that weird, chaotic scent, but it was way too close to my nose. And something tickled my cheek. It was fluffy. I wiped at it and then the scent and fluffy thing was gone. We had apple dumplings for dessert and then I got sleepy so Owen decided it was time to go back to the castle.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The rest of the afternoon

I woke up from my nap, rubbing my eyes. Getting up, I found my shoes and put them on. I leaned on the dresser to fix the tongue of my shoe. Something rumbled under my hand and I fell back on the bed.

Or I would have if… the chaos thingy wasn't holding me in its lion paw. He was the one I smelled through the mirror and on my spoon at lunchtime. "I never thought that boring tour would end! Now, for the real fun…"

"That's my daughter." Puck raised his eyebrow at him.

"You should be proud of this little bundle of chaos." He told my father. "She's gonna be a troublemaker."

"Did you make Alex promise something so I wouldn't see you in his memories?" I asked.

"Hmm, he must have forgotten. Oh well, that's fixable." He snapped his fingers and Alex was teleported to my room. "Introduce me to her, won't you?"

"Talia, this is Discord… lord of chaos and disharmony. Discord, this is Talia, princess of Avalon and my little sister." He said and then my visions of Alex's memories cleared up.

"She still has things to do." Puck tried to take me from him, but I just broke in two and a little bit of me oozed on the floor.

"I didn't do that." I said.

"You don't want to play this game with me, Discord. Not with my child." Puck growled.

"Wow, I know who's your favorite." Alex said bitingly.

"You're a big boy now. You can take care of yourself." He said, still looking at Discord.

"Alright, fine. I can see you're still upset. But you can't blame me for wanting to teach the girl a few tricks." He said, putting my legs back on my torso. "Some things are universal."

"Alright, kiddo, you wanna go make Pinkie her chocolate rain then go flying?" Puck asked.

"She's gonna judge the rematch, remember?" Alex said.

"Rematch?" Discord asked.

"A race. I apparently cheated. It was just a few obstacles and they weren't even that bad." Alex explained.

"Ponies are sticklers for order." Discord blanched.

"Make it rain for Pinkie, judge a race, then go flying." Puck thought. "And party."

"Ok." I nodded.

"You can watch the spell and race, but that's it. Flying is family time." Puck told Discord.

"I would never intrude." Discord raised his claw.

We went downstairs. Twilight and Pinkie were waiting for us. I couldn't tell who was more excited. We went outside and Twilight attached a bunch of wires and junk to me. I looked at Dad.

"It's supposed measure your magic or whatever." He said.

"Begin when ready!" Twilight flipped a switch.

I grabbed a cloud from the sky, making it small. " _Cloud of normal strain, change and let chocolate milk rain!"_

It thundered and fat drops of chocolate milk fell. Pinkie stood under the cloud and caught them on her tongue.I made a cup and filled it. I drank then tossed the cup to Puck.

He took a sip. "Not bad, kiddo."

Alex then took it from Puck and finished it off. "We gotta get to the starting line."

Twilight carefully removed everything and then Puck dropped me off at the gate while he started the race between Rainbow and Alex again. Then some bleachers appeared.

"Popcorn?" Discord asked.

"Where's Dad?" I noticed he wasn't with the native trickster. Not like Native native, but just native.

"I take it that has another meaning where you're from?" He asked.

"You're avoiding my question." I told him.

"Granny Smith proclaimed you her guests while on her land and he won't exactly interfere Alex's race to get here faster." He ate some kernels and spat out the fluffy bits. "Nasty habit of yours, narrating to yourself. You'll lose the element surprise against those 'Native native' tricksters of yours."

"I do not!" I wrinkled my nose.

"It's not your fault really. You're a modern protagonist. It's what your kind does." Discord looked at, past me and raised an eyebrow.

"Talia, watch the gate. You're supposed to be the judge." Puck scolded.

"Ok." I said and watched the horizon.

Discord and Puck ate popcorn as we waited. I heard Rainbow's footsteps before I saw her, but Alex was gaining on her. He pulled ahead and made it through the gate, running a victory lap around me.

"Alex won." I told Rainbow as she walked through the gate.

"I raced the same pony twice in the same day and won both times!" He told me, sitting on the bleachers and chugged a water bottle Dad had for him.

"You've got endurance." She drank one too.

"These muscles aren't for show." He smirked.

"We still need to go flying, kiddos." Puck told us.

"Can I be a pony?" Alex asked.

"Behave yourself." He said.

Alex's eyes turned completely green before it went outward and covered him. In his place was a cream colored Alicorn with an orange mane, tail, and beard. He was taller than Big Mac. His Cutie Mark was a laptop with numbers and stuff on the screen. I ruffled his mane then turned into my pony form. He stretched his wing out, pulling me to his side, and nuzzled me.

"Your turn, Dad." I smiled.

Puck cracked his knuckles and then his magic grew bright for a minute. Owen's fur wasn't as white Rarity's, but it was close. His blond mane and tail were short. He had wire rim glasses and blue half suit, complete with a red tie. His Cutie Mark was a clipboard with checklist on it.

"Interesting." He hummed. He flapped his wings and hovered above us. "Come along, children."

We smiled as we took off after him. We flew around Ponyville a few times at a lazy pace before going back to Twilight's castle. She frowned as we walked through the main hall.

"Talia, Alex, um, what happened to Owen?" She looked at Owen.

"The children wanted to fly as ponies." He turned back into a human. His hair was windblown. We turned back into our normal selves too.

"Ok, Pinkie's party is around dinnertime." Twilight said.

We went to our rooms and relaxed until it was time to go. Pinkie had music, games, and snacks. We talked and played games with all sorts of ponies. At some point, I found myself looking out the window, up at the sunset.

"What's wrong, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"I just miss the rest of my family." I sipped my drink. "Sunset is special time for us."

"We'll get you back home, don't you worry." She said as a loud roar pierced the air. "Was that a monster?"

"No, Goliath." I smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The Avalon travelers

"Who now?" Applejack asked.

"Look, I don't have time to explain. Just… Just watch this." I give her something and flew out the window. I meant to teleport, but sometimes I get the commands mixed up. My cuts began to bleed.

"Tai, slow down!" Alex followed after me.

Puck was faster and made me slow down. He healed all the cuts. "Goliath's here!"

"I know, we heard. And I know you're excited, but you have to be careful." Dad said.

"Ok." I sighed.

We met him somewhere around the edge of town. He and Angela had blood on them. Bronx knocked Alex down and licked his face. Elisa smiled.

"You just couldn't resist coming to another dimension, could you?" Puck asked. "The Avalon crew going interdimensional."

"The portal was too strong, but it closed when we were sucked through." Goliath told him.

"Of course it did." He sighed.

"Ok, enough, get off!" Alex shoved him off. Bronx obeyed, but began covering me in kisses. "Bronx, no!"

"Bleh, no more, yucky!" He stopped, nuzzling my cheek. "I missed you too."

I stood up and Puck dusted me and Alex off, washing our faces with soapy rags. Then he tossed Angela and Goliath them. "We do not need the ponies panicking."

"Wait, ponies?" Elisa asked.

"Yes, we landed in a dimension with sentient ponies." Puck's eyes glowed and the others eyes' glowed too.

Goliath snarled. "Do _NOT_ do that to me again, trickster!"

"No promises. Look, we've already been here a day. Who knows how long we've been gone in our world?" He pointed out.

"It's too late, let's just go back to the party and do whatever tomorrow." I said.

"Very well." Goliath agreed and we went back to the party.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Mirror

Xanatos' POV

"I heard Bronx snarl, he doesn't like some of Alex's tricks so I didn't think much of it. But then Talia screamed and there was a commotion, but by the time I got here, it was quiet." Broadway shrugged.

"The cameras don't pick up magic and we've lost all our magic users…" I frowned. Titania appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Where are the children?" She asked, looking around.

"We don't know. Puck was teaching them how to use mirrors." I told her.

Titania looked at the mirror frame then the glass. She hummed. It was an intense sound. "You haven't moved this, have you?"

"No, Mother, Puck was clear that we don't interact with the children's lesson items until they're done with them." Fox told her. "Unless they want us to."

"It looks like several heavy things were sucked through the mirror. There are claw marks going inward. What was he teaching them?" She frowned.

"Again, we don't _know._ I was working and Fox was…" I frowned.

"I was with our tailors. Talia's pant legs need to be hemmed. They're too long for her." She explained.

"We weren't anywhere near here. And Broadway was explaining that Angela and Goliath got here before he did. Bronx was already here because he likes the kids. Has anyone seen Detective Maza? I know she watched you guys wake up." I thought.

Titania waved her hand in front of the mirror, fixing it. " _Show me the past, of the last hour and half."_

It rippled and showed Puck setting it up. Alex was sitting in the chair and Talia was petting Bronx. She sped through once she realized there would a bit of this. Then she let it play.

" _Now?"_ Talia asked.

" _Keep asking, see where it gets you."_ Puck said as he wiped a smudge off of the glass.

" _I'm bored! You've been cleaning and moving it forever…"_ Talia whined.

" _This is a mortal mirror, a very old mortal mirror."_ Puck turned to her.

" _Why didn't you get a new one?"_ She bounced a ball and Bronx chased it.

" _Because someone insists on being taller and broader than most humans."_ Puck glared at Alex.

" _If I can't to do magic in my normal form then what's the point?"_ He asked.

" _I should have put you on puberty blockers the minute you turned 10."_ Puck muttered. I furrowed my brow. We were going to have a talk later.

" _Can I have some?"_ Talia asked.

" _Sweetheart, you're 17."_ He adjusted it and decided it was good. _"Ok, now that the mirror's ready, we gotta decide what we want to do with it. We could practice mirror travel or scrying's good on nights like this."_

" _What about that thing you were telling me about? Not realities, but… Alternate dimensions, that's it. I wanna do that."_ Alex said.

" _That's a few steps above scrying. You're gonna need my help with that."_ Puck told him.

" _I wanna prank Coyote."_ Talia whined.

" _You'll get to, Sweetheart, after Alex's thing. Ok, focus your magic on mirror."_ He said and Alex did so. The image turned green and Bronx snarled. _"Repeat after me: From the comfort of our home,"_

" _From the comfort of our home,"_ My son's voice gained an otherworldly echo.

" _Let the mirror shine."_ Puck said.

" _Let the mirror shine."_ Alex repeated.

Talia's eyes widened as glass cracked. _"The mirror can't handle your magic!"_

" _And show a world we cannot normally roam,"_ Puck continued.

" _And show a world we cannot normally roam,"_ Wind whipped around them.

" _Alex, Dad, I'm begging you to STOP! PLEASE STOP!"_ Her voice was as clear as day. I wasn't sure if it was a testament to her power or her fear.

" _For a short time."_ Talia tackled Alex.

" _For a short time."_ They were too far gone.

Spells like this required a connection, deep and unwavering, though temporary. The doors slammed open, Goliath and Angela leading. Elisa was behind them. The wind swept Talia into the now near white mirror. Alex and Puck were next, then was Bronx, and finally our protectors. At last, the glass fell out of the frame. Then black.

Titania's magic faded and mirror flickered and showed a bedroom. Owen was sleeping in the bed, curled up.

"Owen!" Fox gasped. He fell onto the floor and scrambled to the vanity. He put his glasses on. He rubbed his eyes. "Where are the kids?"

"They are sleeping in the rooms next to mine. How long has it been?" He asked.

"An hour and half." Titania said.

"I see." Owen smoothed his hair down as best he could. "We have been here a day and half. Goliath and Angela are getting ready to perch."

I nodded. "The kids won't leave them, even for 30 minutes."

"We need something to connect the worlds, give Alexander something to focus on." Owen dug through the drawer.

I grabbed a book. We tossed them into the mirrors and a hairbrush fell onto the floor. It was a soft tan with golden bristles. I touched it and felt its magic. It was… friendly? The image got fuzzy.

"Owen, what's happening?" I asked.

"Sir, the worlds are desyncing. I will do everything I can to make sure we come home as soon as possible." His words were garbled before the mirror went back to normal.

"I guess we wait." Fox frowned.

Xanatos' POV End


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Rough start

"Tai, Tai. Wake up." Puck shook me. I rolled over and covered my head. "I got a message from Earth."

"Wha?" I mumbled as he pulled my covers off.

"A message from Earth. It's been an hour and half over there. We're working on an Avalon time zone." He told me.

"I sleepy." I nuzzled my pillow.

"Good night, Sweetheart." He sighed and kissed my forehead.

I fell asleep again.

Talia's POV End

Alex's POV

"Why does she get to sleep in?" I asked.

"She's my baby." Puck said.

"Remind me to buy Owen more condoms. He's getting close to that new girl." I muttered.

"Owen's sterile." He said.

"Uh huh." I nodded, not believing it.

"What're you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"Birth control." Puck answered. "And he is too."

"Oh." She blushed.

"Anyway, Owen got a, uh, transmission from Earth. It's been an hour and half there." I said.

Twilight moved faster than I had ever seen. I had no idea how we gotten to the library. Puck looked frazzled as well.

"Tell. Me. Everything." Her eye twitched a bit.

Alex's POV End

Talia's POV

I woke up and got dressed. Then I went down for breakfast. Spike saw me and made some more food. I sat down.

"What's going on? Where's Alex and Dad?" I asked.

"They've been doing research ever since Twilight stopped asking a billion questions an hour." He gave me some eggs.

"Why?" I took a forkful.

"Apparently, Owen was contacted by your family. Alex's mom and dad and your grandmother, Tit- Titania?" He thought.

"Yeah, that's her." I nodded.

"There you are, Tai. We're trying to find a way home. Grandma got in contact with Owen by accident. He thinks it has something to dawn being an in between time." Alex kissed my cheek and sat down.

Spike got out more food stuff. Owen came in next and we ate. Then Dad took us back to the library. Twilight was laying on the floor.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"All our research is ruined! I can't find tell which books we looked at." She cried out, gesturing.

The books were stacked in a big pile.

"I don't get it." I said.

"Someone mixed the books together." Puck hummed.

"Puck, we gotta figure this out before the connection between our worlds breaks." Alex reminded him.

He huffed. We sorted the books. Some of them were really heavy. I got tired and I decided to take a cat nap on the big, soft couch. They were still sorting when I fell asleep. I thought we were halfway done...

Talia's POV End


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Picnic

I woke up outside under a tree. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I smelled bread, cream cheese, and fruit. Discord and Fluttershy were having a picnic.

"Hello, Talia." Fluttershy smiled.

"How'd I get here?" I asked.

"Magic accident. Couldn't let you stay in the library." Discord said. "Your father and brother are doing whatever it is they do to blow off some steam. Cucumber sandwich?"

I sat in between them, taking the triangle. I nibbled it while I gathered some chips and snacks. There wasn't any meat at all. I knew that it was unenviable, but I was still a little disappointed. The food was good.

"Tea?" Flutterfly held out a thermos.

"Sure." I said and she poured it into my cup. Discord must have given it to me.

"Say, how'd you get here anyway?" He asked.

"Magic mirror accident." I said.

"Oh, no. That's awful." Fluttershy gasped.

"Your father and brother were almost at Twilight levels of research. They were burning midnight oil before noon." Discord told me.

"It's not just us." I shrugged. "We don't know how long the connection's gonna last."

"Still…" He hummed.

There was a slight breeze. Fluttershy had chosen a shaded spot not too close to castle. I could see Goliath's figure in the highest part. I ate as I looked around. Luckily, there wasn't any bugs around. Elisa walked out from a side door.

"Hey, kiddo. I think your dad needs some father daughter time." She jerked her thumb.

"After cookie." I stuffed my face.

"Fine." She said.

"Would you like to join us?" Fluttershy asked.

"No, I'm good. I just came to her." Elisa helped me up.

"Alright." Discord nodded.

We went inside and we walked into through the many halls. Elisa took me to the rooms where we were staying. I was nudged inside. It was destroyed. The walls were clawed up, which were crystal, and the pillows were all over the place.

"There you are, Tai." Puck swept me up and I was quickly cuddled.

"What'd you do while I was asleep?" I asked.

"We exhausted the library. Nothing so far. Twilight's getting more from Canterlot. Shh." He nuzzled me.

I sighed, but let him relax. I let my thoughts wander. We had to go home. But if all the ways the Puck and Alex had looked at didn't work, then… We had to make our own. Somehow.

"Psst." I heard a small voice. "Talia…"

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Fluttershy. I have something to show you." She whispered.

"Gimme ten- twenty minutes." I decided.

I slowly released more magic to soothe Dad. Once I was sure he was nodding off, I slipped a pillow under his arm. I padded out and followed the Pegasus. We sneaked down to the basement. After an agonizingly slow crawl, we got to an out-of- the-way closet. There was a suspiciously shaped thing in the center of the room. Fluttershy tugged a sheet off. It was a mirror.

"It's a portal. Twilight said it took her to an alternate world. One with humans." She touched the frame.

"Why're you showing me?" I asked.

"A magic mirror brought you here; maybe a magic mirror will take you back." Fluttershy explained.

"How much time will this eat?" I asked.

"I don't understand the math, but it shouldn't be as drastic as the time difference between your world and ours." She frowned.

"I guess, but I won't be gone too long." I thought.

Fluttershy got a journal and placed it on the sheet holder thing. Magic whirled around the tubes and stuff and the magic was shot into the mirror.

"Stand guard and don't let anyone close it before I come back." I stepped through it.

"Talia, come back!" Elisa yelled.


	10. Chapter 10

**Quick Announcement: I have a Deviant art and Ao3. I sometimes post fanart for my fics. My Ao3 has Gargoyles stuff. My username is for both is still emyy250.**

Chapter 10

A night and a morning

I stumbled out of the portal and dusted myself off. I let the dizziness fade. It was sunset. I turned around and saw a statue. It was a horse. I was wearing a white tank top and jean shorts. Odd, but whatever. This wasn't my Earth, I could feel it.

Maybe this world has meat. I looked at the school. My lip curled. Nah. There's gotta be food somewhere else. I went toward town. I looked for a burger place. So far, I didn't see anything. I found a diner after a few more blocks. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries. I paid with fairy money, meaning it would turn back into napkins after a few days.

I realized I had nowhere to go. It was also dark. And windy. I found a brick building and went inside. I turned to a fox. I curled up and slept.

I smelt something. Before I could figure out what it was, my fox brain decided it was Run Time. I darted out of my nap spot and barreled through the room.

"Fluttershy, look out!" Someone yelled.

I leapt, the girl had a rabbit, and then-

"I got it!" A Southern voice shouted.

I yelped as I was yanked back.

"Don't hurt her." Fluttershy said.

"This varmint attacked you." Applejack pointed.

I whined and gnawed at the rope. My teeth weren't sharp enough and my body still hurt from the fall. I rolled onto my back.

"Untie the fox." Fluttershy argued.

"This don't look like a normal fox, but it's still a wild ani-" Applejack tried.

"NOW!" Fluttershy demanded.

I was freed and hid under the couch. Couch dark, couch safe. I screamed at them when they got too close.

"Uh, Fluttershy, that didn't really help much." The unicorn smelling human said.

She reached into her pocket. I sniffed the air. My tail wagged. The meaty treat was tasty. The hard wood turned into grass and more treats were dumped in the grass.

"She was hungry." Fluttershy said as the door shut.

I finished my breakfast and laid in the sun for a bit. My black fur got warm. I yawned and then went pee. I had to go back to the statue. But I didn't wanna walk. I teleported there. I was about to go through when something fell out.

"Talia, is that you?" Elisa asked.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Portal

I turned human. "Hi."

"Let's go back." She turned around. But the statue was solid. "I think something happened to the mirror."

"Uh oh." I frowned.

"What's uh oh?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Dad doesn't know I'm here." I frowned.

"Talia, why?!" She asked.

"I thought it would still be open." I said.

"New friends!" Someone shouted and tackled us.

"Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash scolded.

She let us go. "Are you from Equestria?"

"Not exactly." Elisa said.

"You're lucky it's Saturday. Come on, let's go the field." Rainbow said.

We went to the soccer field and sat on the bleachers. Pinkie called the others to come meet them. Rainbow and I played with the ball while we waited. All the human versions of the ponies came. Then the girl with red and yellow hair ran up. Elisa squinted at her.

"Hey, Sunset." Twilight waved.

"What's going on?" She asked.

We explained. They sat and listened. I left out the part where I turned into a fox.

"And now, the statue's not working so we can't go back." I said.

"Something must have happened to the mirror." Twilight hummed.

"I'll just write Twilight." Sunset said, holding up a journal.

We looked at her.

"Pony Twilight." Pinkie supplied.

She wrote in the journal. It glowed. Then she shut it. "Now, we wait."

"That's it?" I asked.

"Time passes faster here than on Equstria." Sunset explained.

"Great." Elisa muttered.

"Darling, we must find you a new outfit! This is so… uninspired!" Rarity gestured to me.

"It's a tank top…" I stated.

"I will not let you go home in _that_." She insisted.

"Fine." I said.

We went to the Carousel Boutique. The others reined her in as she scourged up some outfits. I rejected most of them. But I found a charcoal gray dress and that seemed to satisfy Rarity. Then we went to the diner I found yesterday. I got chicken nuggets and a milkshake with my burger. Elisa got coke and fries. Sunset paid for our meals since we didn't have money.

Sunset's bag buzzed. She checked it. "It's the princess. She's got the portal working again and that you should hurry."

They called a cab and we were driven back to the school. They hugged us goodbye. Sunset slipped something into my bag.

"It was nice meeting you." Rainbow said.

"Get going. You don't wanna keep them waiting." Sunset smiled.

We stepped through the portal. Twilight and Fluttershy were waiting for us. Celestia and Luna held my father in a bubble. Elisa stepped to the side, motioning them to let go. They frowned, but did so.

Dad scooped me up, nuzzling me. "My baby!"

A draconequus shadow crawled across the floor. Dad stilled. I turned to see, but he wouldn't let me.

"Fluttershy and I were only talking about how you got here. I didn't think-" He spoke softly.

Dad growled at Discord. His shadow raised its arms up.

" **BE GONE, DISCORD! YOUR PRESENCES UPSETS THE PUCK."** Luna demanded.

Discord left without a word.


End file.
